Connecticut's Stefanie Dolson, left, drives to the basket while being guarded by Syracuse's Kayla Alexander during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Hartford, Conn., Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Dolson scored a game-high 25 points in Connecticut's 87-62 victory. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

HARTFORD — During June of her eighth-grade year in school, Breanna Stewart received her first college scholarship offer. It came unex- pectedly from her hometown school, Syracuse.

Saturday, she delivered a reminder to the Orange about the one they let get away by scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds.

Not that Syracuse was ever really the front-runner in the recruitment of the 6-foot-4 forward. The Orange were simply the first to woo her before she was discovered.

"That was definitely a turning point," Stewart said. "I wasn't expecting to get a scholarship offer from them at that point. But it was something that was, like, 'Wow, that's awesome. I got a D-I scholarship.' And then it just kind of skyrocketed from there."

Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman said he was impressed with her from a very young age when he saw her play at the team's summer youth camp. So he took the initiative to start charming her.

"She was just a very, very tough kid then, very athletic," Hillsman said. "I knew that she had potential to be very good. And I don't think she shorted herself at all because she's had a great high school career, a great career with USA Basketball. I think she'll be a great player in the country.''

Stewart attended Syracuse games with her dad throughout her high school career, so she got to know Hillsman and some of the players.

"I didn't really have a favorite player; I don't think," Stewart said. "I just enjoyed going to the games and watching good basketball."

Ultimately, she outgrew Syracuse as she blossomed into the national high school player of the year and wanted to play in an elite program.

"I always kept Syracuse in the back of my mind just because it is where I am from," Stewart said. "I got along with Coach Q and the other coaches very well. But I just wanted to get out of Syracuse and go somewhere new. I have grown up in Syracuse all my life and I could have stayed there, but I think it was getting a little away from home. Plus, I want to try to reach my potential here at Connecticut."

A big crowd: The Huskies drew a crowd of 14,786 for Saturday's game, their largest attendance this season.

"Maybe it was the time of day, maybe it was the time of year," coach Geno Auriemma said. "Four o'clock games on weekends are a really great time for people to come to games. I think you can pretty much look in the stands and see that the crowd was different today, not so much just in how many people, but it had the look and the feel of what we used to take for granted as Connecticut basketball for all those years. So hopefully we can have more of these."

Tickets for Duke: There are still approximately 1,000 tickets available for Monday's Duke game at Gampel Pavilion. Duke (15-0) is ranked No. 4 in the country and is the lone undefeated team remaining in Division I basketball.

Stokes out: Kiah Stokes sat out her sixth game of the season Saturday with a stress reaction injury to her right shin. She missed five games in a row before returning for the Louisville game Tuesday night, but halfway through practice Friday the injury bothered her enough that she walked off the court.

"She's got a bad wheel," Auriemma said. "It never ends.''

Auriemma said he is going to have to approach Stokes on a day-by-day basis the rest of the season.

"I don't think there's going to be a time when she's going to be 100 percent the rest of the season," Auriemma said. "It's just a matter of how much can she manage? Some days it's going to better, some days it's going to be worse. And we're just going to have to go and play it by ear."

Regressing Hartley?: Bria Hartley's inconsistency continued as she finished the game with three points, three assists and three rebounds while shooting 1-of-4 and committing two turnovers in 19 minutes.

"I don't know why,'' Auriemma said. "I know she rolled her ankle maybe two or three times out there today so maybe that was a part of it. But I don't know what to expect anymore, so I just kind of chalk it up as just a bad day. Just a bad day."

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